From what i've seen of Polina Edmunds she has both. Personality and the jumps. Her SP at last years Nationals was one of the highlights for me. To bad she had a rough LP but she's one to watch.

Yeah Polina really has the whole package, or the potential to have the whole package. Her tech is quite amazing now, all the triples 3lz-3t and 3f-3t combos, and I think both her flip and lutz take off the right edges, and in the jumps competition she even did 3lz-3t-2lo! I love her spins too, she's very flexible (used to be a rhythmic gymnast) and hits great positions with her long legs, plus she spins super fast, and I love how she does her biellman on an edge! And of course she also has lots of personality and perk, with a little diva mixed in. Her PCS have always been pretty strong considering her young age, and she's improved a lot. David Glynn has done a really good job with her, but I do wonder, has he ever coached a high level skater before? I just wonder about his ability to take her to the next level and really untap her potential. But I guess all the coaching greats had to start out somewhere, so it might be a moot point. I had just never heard of him before. But, he seems to teach good technique!

David Glynn has done a really good job with her, but I do wonder, has he ever coached a high level skater before? I just wonder about his ability to take her to the next level and really untap her potential.

This is a personal pet peeve of mine and not directed specifically at you, Silverlake, but why do people ask this question all the time of a coach they've never heard of? Who CARES whether someone has coached a high level skater before - Linda Leaver never had a high level skater before Brian B and he won the Olympics. If the relationship between skater and coach is what it needs to be and the coach gets the right people on the team to address weaknesses he/she cannot work through (choreo/levels/jumps/spins/sports psych/chief cook/bottle washer), then it shouldn't matter whether a coach has had high level skaters before. People were all over that question with regard to Alex O last year and Gracie Gold (he's had other successful high level skaters in the Intermediate-Junior ranks and a couple Seniors who skated for other countries but no one on this board had "heard" of him and were calling for Gracie to seek out other coaching opportunities in the same way people are calling for Jason Brown to seek out other coaching opportunities).

This is a personal pet peeve of mine and not directed specifically at you, Silverlake, but why do people ask this question all the time of a coach they've never heard of? Who CARES whether someone has coached a high level skater before - Linda Leaver never had a high level skater before Brian B and he won the Olympics. If the relationship between skater and coach is what it needs to be and the coach gets the right people on the team to address weaknesses he/she cannot work through (choreo/levels/jumps/spins/sports psych/chief cook/bottle washer), then it shouldn't matter whether a coach has had high level skaters before. People were all over that question with regard to Alex O last year and Gracie Gold (he's had other successful high level skaters in the Intermediate-Junior ranks and a couple Seniors who skated for other countries but no one on this board had "heard" of him and were calling for Gracie to seek out other coaching opportunities in the same way people are calling for Jason Brown to seek out other coaching opportunities).

Fair point, and yes, I guess when you put it that way it doesn't really matter so long as he gets the job done at the end of the day. She already has all the triples, so at this point, there isn't too much to worry about. I wonder how tall Polina is though? She looks quite tall already and where she just turned 14 she'll probably grow another 2-3 inches before she stops, which should be fine unless she's already in the vicinity of 5'5" or 5'6", just because you don't really see any 5'8"+ ladies in the top echelon of international skating these days. Where she's so thin and long-legged I really have no idea of her current height, she looks tall, but so do a lot of wiry junior ladies who are barely 5ft... Anyways hope she keeps up the momentum and stays injury free training all these sick combos!

In general, if the techique is sound, I wouldn't worry too much about how tall a skater is as long as (similar to cycling) the weight to strength ratio is "there" for that skater. Yes, the center of gravity is higher when you are taller (and she was really not that tall at Nationals as both Gracie Gold and Ashley Cain were taller than she is, she looks taller due to long limbs and not much body) but if the technique is sound, a skater who already learned an element can adjust. A lot of skaters fizzle out because technique is not sound before growing taller than 5' (many skaters learn to just rotate and not to actually JUMP).

Polina looks great! She skates so fast! Between that amazing speed, the 3-3s, and her long muscly legs, she really does resemble a young Carolina Kostner. Seems to be pretty naturally musical as well, and presentation is pretty good for a 14 year old with brand new programs! Really excited to see how she progresses this season! From these videos, she's definitely ready for a JGP and might scare some of the new Russian babies coming up!

She's been in Juniors for 2 years already and has not had panels call any jumps under rotated or downgraded - they are fully rotated. She finished 6th at the US Championships this year in Juniors behind Gracie Gold, Ashley Cain, Hannah Miller, Barbie Long, and Mariah Bell. I believe all but Long are moving up to Seniors this year (although Bell may <and IMHO SHOULD> remain Junior another season).

Bell competed in juniors here, so if she plans to move up to senior this season, she hasn't passed her test yet and needs to do so before September. I had assumed she was staying junior another season, and I too think that is a good idea, it would be in her best interest to get her triples more consistent before moving up IMO.

She was actually 6th, haha. And Mariah looked like she had grown at Nationals, where she appeared to be all legs. Someone on another forum mentioned that she looked to have grown more since Nationals too though, so maybe she has hit a growthspurt. Barbie Long has also grown a lot though, and her jumps seem as strong as ever, she hit several 3lz-3t combos at this event. Polina is quite tall for someone who just turned 14 so I'm hoping that means she won't have to deal with the growing pains once she goes senior, and actually, that might have contributed to why she was so inconsistent and struggled last season. She sure seems rock-solid and super impressive technically now!

Polina has not yet going through her growing spurt at 14. It may come soon though.